We at GMS are very excited about the impending autumn. Although autumn hasn’t really shown its face around these parts, we are expecting it will soon, and in anticipation of that we’ve come up with an easy roasted vegetable & arugula salad that you guys can throw together and enjoy in the cold months – with plenty of veggies for good measure. Our inspiration was this delicious looking salad. This recipe involves taking oats and pepitas and roasting them with a little sweetener (we used brown sugar) and a little olive oil, and then roasting a pile of vegetables (we used beets, a butternut squash, a shallot, and a sweet potato) and serving it all over arugula, using whatever dressing you feel like in your heart – we used a peanuty dressing and did not regret it. For the whole recipe, head here. You won’t regret throwing together this quick dish for a side – or a main course. It’s colorful, it’s easy, it is a pile of veggies, and it’s got some crunch. It’s perfect for cooling temperatures when you still want the vibrant greens that summer held.

I have been telling Jennie for years how much I love beef stroganoff, and she has called me crazy every time. When I finally convinced her to try this recipe out, I wasn’t the least bit surprised when she found this as delicious as I did. Victory sure is sweet!

We were surprised to learn that a good beef stroganoff does not require hours of slow cooking, but can actually come together in a little more than 30 minutes. I suspect all those stroganoff haters out there have only had versions of the dish that cook for so long that all the ingredients eventually turn to indistinguishable mush. Not this recipe, folks. This one is fresh and flavorful and surprisingly easy to prepare.

We adapted this recipe by Gimme Some Oven, making some minor adjustments to seasonings and ingredients according to our tastes. We did add a couple tablespoons of whole grain dijon mustard, which I highly recommend.

Now that it’s finally getting cold again, this warm comfort food is an absolute must. Give it a try!

Hey y’all! Jennie and Corelyn are taking some time off surrounding Jennie’s wedding. While they’re gone, please enjoy some guest posts from our favorite bloggers.

This post is from one of our favorite dessert bloggers, Julianne from Beyond Frosting. Everything Julianne makes is delicious, beautiful, and somehow unexpected. She brings the party to every event, and we love seeing what she’s baking up. Check out her site and the delicious post below!

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Hey everyone! My name is Julianne and I blog over at Beyond Frosting. I am a bit of a sugar addict with a knack for cupcakes and frosting. Since Jennie is taking some time off to enjoy her new life as a mrs, she graciously invited me to come hang out over here for a day!

I met Corelyn and Jennie back in April when I attended the LA Bake for Good tour hosted by King Arthur Flour. It was clear these two had a very special bond, and I quite enjoyed getting to know them! I had never met anyone who was “afraid” of flour the way Jennie was, and it was pretty awesome to see her try and overcome her fears as she rolled up her sleeves and stuck her hands right in the big bowl of flour!

Later in the summer, Corelyn and Jennie invited me to a summer solstice party, where I got my first farm-to-table experience. The party was co-hosted by Farmhouse 38; it turned out to be one of the most gorgeous dinner parties I’ve ever attended.

I am here today to share with you a recipe that is pretty special to me. The recipe was given to me by my friend Rachel; I practically begged her for it! She had to recreate it because she just “threw it together” the first time she made it. Little did I know, it was super easy!

I later made this recipe for the first Christmas party I attended at my boyfriend’s family’s house. That was just over three years ago. We had only been dating for a few months, and his grandparents invited me to share in their family Christmas celebration. I would like to say that this rum cake won me a spot at the dinner table for many years to come.

His grandfather is so obsessed with this cake. So much so, that I usually make one for them every time we get together. Well a few weeks ago, we were headed up there for a cookout for his grandfather’s birthday and I knew I would be making rum cake. I decided to take out a slice to photograph it, to update the original post, which was written in the early days of Beyond Frosting.

You know you are friends with a food blogger when they give you a cake with a slice cut out, right? Well he wasn’t mad that I had sliced the cake, he was more surprised when I suggested that we share it as the dessert after the BBQ. HAHA! I guess I should have made them a spare cake. I just adore his grandparents, and that’s why this recipe will always be a special one for me. Thanks for the hook up Rachel!

Please head over to my site for the recipe!

Hey y’all! Jennie and Corelyn are taking some time off surrounding Jennie’s wedding. While they’re gone, please enjoy some guest posts from our favorite bloggers.

This post is from our good pal Kate, who was sweet enough to let us borrow two of her delicious recipes from Farmhouse38. We hope you enjoyed last week’s Caramel Bourbon Cake, and we know you’ll enjoy this Apple Pie Crème Brûlée.

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Is it obvious that I have a thing for crème brûlée? (Please refer to this and this for clarification.) I just can’t quit it. The chickens are enablers; their diligent egg-laying forces my hand.

This recipe is a yummy seasonal departure with its shortbread crust and layer of apple butter added to a classic vanilla bean custard.

You will need:

-2-1/2 cups heavy cream
– 1 whole vanilla bean
-7 large egg yolks
-1/2 cup granulated sugar
-6 to 12 shortbread cookies, depending on how big they are and how much cookie crust you want
-6 to 12 tablespoons of your favorite apple butter
-approx. 6 extra tablespoons of sugar to brûlée the tops

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking dish with a dish towel (this keeps the ramekins from sliding around once you fill the baking dish with water). Set this aside.

Split the vanilla bean and place it in a medium saucepan, along with the cream, and put this on your stovetop over medium heat. Warm the cream mixture slowly, until bubbles form around the edge of the pot. Remove it from the heat, and let it sit while you go about your other business.

In a ziplock baggy, crush your shortbread cookies, and then line the bottoms of each ramekin with just enough crumbs to be a solid layer. Next, spoon about a tablespoon or so of apple butter over the top of the crumbs–again, just enough to make a solid layer. Place your ramekins in your prepared baking dish so that their sides don’t touch each other. Personal space; it’s important.

In a stand mixer, whisk together the sugar and egg yolks until the mixture begins to thicken and turn slightly lighter in color.

Strain the cream mixture and then very, very, very slowly, add it in tiny bits to the sugar/egg mixture. If you do this too fast, your eggs will scramble. Scrambled eggs bad. This process usually takes me a few minutes. When everything is blended, divide the mixture evenly amongst your six prepared ramekins. Carefully fill the baking dish with scalding hot water (either from the tap or from an already-boiled pot of water) so that the water line comes about halfway up the sides of the ramekins.

Put your baking dish on the middle rack of your oven and bake for 35-50 minutes or until the custard is set around the edges and wiggles only a tad in the very center. Remove your baking dish from the oven, remove the ramekins from the the water bath, and let them cool a bit on the counter. Refrigerate them for a few hours or up to three days.

When you are ready to serve, sprinkle about a tablespoon of sugar across the top of the custard so that there is a decent layer across the whole thing. Fire up your brûlée torch, and holding your ramekin at a 45 degree angle, ease the flame across the sugar. Once it starts to melt, start rotating your custard a bit so that the melted sugar rolls around and spreads nicely across the top. Try not to catch anything other than the sugar on fire. Especially your kitchen. Don’t do that.

Let the sugar cool and serve immediately!

Hey y’all! Jennie and Corelyn are taking some time off surrounding Jennie’s wedding. While they’re gone, please enjoy some guest posts from our favorite bloggers.

This is a post from our friend Marissa who is one half of the genius behind Bourbon and Goose. Marissa is spunky, energetic, and really knows how to make a delicious cocktail the complement any food – one of the reasons we love knowing her! Check out her great stuff on BandG, and we hope you enjoy her amazing post below!

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First things first, I am so excited to be on Garlic My Soul today! Jennie and Corelyn are absolutely terrific and their blog posts have saved me many times from disasters in the kitchen. A longtime follower of their recipes, I met these two lovely ladies during a blogger meet-up at Bottega Louie a couple years ago. When they asked if I could share with you a post while Jennie’s getting hitched (by the way congratulations Jennie!) I had to give you a peek into my favorite market and eatery in Downtown Los Angeles’s Art’s District, Urban Radish. It’s my go-to destination for ingredients featured in my monthly craft cocktail meet-up, the #happyhourclub.

What makes this market so special? The owners and staff. Their customer service is beyond wonderful. I’m always welcomed with a smile, educated on what’s in season, and encouraged to taste any fruit or veggie I might be questioning. The food featured in their store is a selection of organic and GMO-free items. Oh, and if you love packaging design like me, this grocery store would be your Candyland. Speaking of, have you ever tried powdered peanut butter or salted watermelon jelly? It’s interesting products like these that have me itching to test out some new cocktail recipes.

Speaking of cocktails, their happy hour is spot on. They change things up with theme nights like Bossa Nova, feature seasonal prepared foods, craft beers and wines by the glass. Plus there’s a no corkage fee if you prefer grabbing a bottle. Once you see their wine selection, you’ll see why you would.

But my favorite part about this curated market has to be the perfect produce—fresh and organic, it’s hard not to get sucked into purchasing a vegetable based on it’s looks which I’m totally guilty of. Recently I discovered my first raisins on the vine. Take that California raisins! It’s little discoveries like these, that have made Urban Radish my favorite destination in Downtown LA. Well, that and their burrata sandwich. I swear their burrata is straight from heaven.